The Baltimore County is set to spend nearly $1.5 million to buy new service weapons.
The Baltimore County Police Department says they've been carrying the FSN-40 pistil for nearly three years but recently discovered this model an misfire or not fire at all. Now, 2,000 police guns in the county need to be replaced.
The county council entered into an emergency contract with a Pennsylvania-based firearm company for new guns last month and the council still needs to approve that contract. The Baltimore County Police Department chose instead to issue the Glock-17 to its officers. The Glock is carried by more than 60 percent of law enforcement agencies in the United States.
Back in 2017, a county police officer was hurt when a gun misfired although the department has said it cannot trace any of its accidental discharges to the flaw in the weapon. Still, police say officers need to have confidence in their weapons.
"Well this is an important tool that we carry every day as a police officer and you have to have confidence in that weapon to know when you are going to use it, when you need to use it that is is going to work and it is going to work properly," said Baltimore County Police Cpl. Shawn Vinson.
It is unclear what, if any action will be taken against the original gun manufacturer FN-America. While the Baltimore County Police Department does not know what will come of the nearly 2000 weapons it plans to replace, they expect them to be destroyed.
